Advertising is a most important revenue source for various content and service providers of digital media. As the range of data sharing and transmission methods increases, the ability for such content and service providers to generate revenue in ways that do not increase cost or decrease enjoyment of the user is imperative. A user may be frustrated by receiving generic advertisements peddling products or services which are of no interest to the user, and is therefore less likely to use such advertisements for purchasing or navigation. More customized advertising, however, is likely to be viewed more favorably by a user, and thus in turn provide a more effective advertising model.
With the growing popularity of interactive TV, a user is able to interact with the transmitted content using the traditional remote controller and enhance the video viewing experience. This interactivity has the potential to cause the demise of the 30 second commercial spots in broadcasted content in that a user is able to skip over such a commercial if the program is recorded, or at least the user might switch to some other activity for the length of the commercial. Much like the Internet, the on-demand and interactive nature of the IPTV can open up new opportunities with regard to targeted advertisement, perhaps giving rise to alternative advertisement models that target individuals based on their ‘intent’. The current 30 second ads are more of a spray gun approach that are expensive and have low yield. For targeted ads, it is important to understand the user's intent during the time of interactivity.
Mobile communication devices have allowed conversations between people in an ever increasing number of ways, including email, texting, SMS and the like. These conversations are not currently subject to advertising, thus causing advertisers to miss out on target audiences, and users to possibly miss out on being informed through advertising channels.
Providing tailored advertising to a user based upon search terms input into a search engine while employing a computer over a computer network such at the World Wide Web is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. There has also been interest in providing tailored advertising to computer users when working with various computer programs, and performing various user-initiated actions, other than those associated with a search query. In one example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/042,246 “Content-Targeted Advertising for Interactive Computer-Based Applications”, to Goodman et al., filed Jan. 25, 2005 describes a method whereby outgoing email, calendar entries, chat messages or gaming participant interactions over a computer network are analyzed to determine various key elements. Thereafter, one or more tailored advertisements may be provided in accordance with the results of this analyzation. While this fundamental analysis may be a simple matter when using a traditional computer and input device, such as a computer keyboard, the inventors of the present invention have determined that unique difficulties may arise when more progressive input devices on varied communication systems are employed.